Life Serial 2: Their Law
by Shade Embry
Summary: *Completed!* Sequel to "Coventry." 24/Alias/The Agency/Ultraviolet. How far would you go for the ones you love?
1. PM Dawn

Their Law 

Brittany "Thespis" Frederick

**Summary:** Sequel to "Coventry." When loyalties get betrayed and the world is burning, how far would you go for the ones you love?

**Genre: **Action/Adventure/Romance

**Rating:** PG for a little language

**Dedication:** To Tisha, as ever. I'm only one half of the team.

**Author's Note:** This is a mega-crossover, done entirely for the fun of myself and my best friend. It's going to involve most hugely _24_ and _Alias_, but also a little of _The Agency, Ultraviolet_ and God knows what else. All that stuff doesn't belong to us, but obviously the characters of us belong to us … the sense, however, will probably go out the window. And if any of the IRL people in this should read it, it's all in fun, I swear. ;)

Home Base San Marcos, California One Month After England 

          You can't go back to a normal life. You really only have one chance, and I blew it.

          "What do you mean I don't check my messages?" I asked Leticia, walking through our shared apartment to grab my jacket. "I work three days a week now. Instead of calling, all they have to do is find me on the floor."

          "I'm not talking about CTU, I mean socially."

          "I don't have a social life, and I can't now. Working in counterterrorism and all."

          She rolled her eyes and turned to regard me. "Weiss has tried to call you like five times."

          "Oh. That." I froze.

          "Yeah." Handing me my breakfast, my best friend tried and failed to suppress a smirk. Eric Weiss was one of her handlers at the main Agency and we had all worked together in London. I'd even been conned into coming on a double date to some Agency function with him and Leticia and her handler-crush, Michael Vaughn. But for all the spy audacity, I hadn't the guts to tell Weiss something was missing: me. "You'd better talk to him," she continued, "he's going crazy. And driving _me_ crazy."

          "I will when there's time."

          "He's a good guy."

          "I know," I said, hesitating for a second.

          My fellow agent caught the subtext. "What?"

          "Nothing."

          "Still thinking about Michael?" Colefield, that is.

          Now I choked on my beverage in reference to the fellow government agent I'd fallen for in England. "We talked about it, okay? Live in two countries, we can't exactly date. He's a dozen years older than me and I wish he'd call, but he's fighting against an invasion and I'm…"

          "Ranting?"

          "Yeah." Mercifully, I was stopped by the ringing of the phone, which I was all too happy to answer. "Go ahead."

          "Brittany, it's me." Jack Bauer was Agent In Charge of CTU Los Angeles and had recently promoted me from civilian computer information specialist to (but still civilian) his administrative assistant, third officer (behind the ASAC), and internal affairs/agent operations officer (actual title: Administrative Assistant Special Agent In Charge). He'd also taken care of the apartment, so in addition to my hero worship, I owed him a debt of gratitude. "I need you in a little early."

          "No problem," I said, motioning to Leticia, resident driver, to get her keys. "What's up?"

          "The Albatross has disappeared."

          "I'm on it."

Counter Terrorist Unit 

**Los Angeles**

I burst unceremoniously in the front doors of my workplace and went straight to Jack's office, where I knew everyone on the senior staff would be assembled. Given the situation I didn't know if there would be panic or champagne.

          Around the office, security specialist Michelle Dessler was known (covertly, of course) as The Albatross. Though qualified on paper, her lack of knowledge of Agency ways and means had become a liability, and her intrusive and abrasive personality, including stating the obvious to death, made us nuts. If we could ever find a replacement we would've fired her. Maybe that's why she ran.

          I reached the top of the stairs and entered Jack's office. Assistant Special Agent In Charge Tony Almeida, who had been my field leader on my team in London, was already there. My unofficial partner, longtime friend, London teammate and CTU technology officer, Agent Lex Richards, smirked my way and handed me a donut. After brief small talk with Lex and Tony, I turned to Jack.

          "Talk to me."

          "Michelle's been gone 48 hours with no known activity," my boss said, surprisingly ambivalent. "I sent Paulsen over to do a sitrep and she turned in the key to her apartment and bailed yesterday."

          "Any signs?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't have noticed if there were since I tried hard not to notice Michelle, period.

          Lex shook his head. "There weren't any."

          "There are always signs," Tony corrected.

          I shot them both a cross look and spoke to Jack. "Who's coming in on this?" I inquired. Per Agency protocol, anything involving a rogue or missing agent required a main branch representative on the mission team. "I don't know yet," he told me, "but pull your team and see what you can do." By virtue of my new job description, this mission would be mine. Never mind that I was seventeen and a full-time college student besides, or that my first and only other mission had been leading the violent apprehension of CTU traitor and dangerous terrorist Nina Myers in London.

          "I'm on it. Lex, set up your tracking, meet me in the conference room. I'll start assembling the team."

          "Keep me up to date," said Jack, our cue to go with luck.

          Together Lex and I left Jack's office for the main floor. As we were walking down the stairs, he glanced at me. "Why do you think she did it?"

          I shrugged. "I only ask why when I find out the truth."

          He nodded, and he went his way, and I went mine.

          Ten minutes later four of us sat in the conference room with Michelle's life in front of us. The additions were Agents Christopher Gautreau and Kevin Blaisdell. C.G., our specialist in mission management, had the good looks of Enrique Murciano, while Kevin, counter-hostilities agent, was like a mostly silent Erik von Detten. Both looked edgy when I told them what was happening.

          "We'll need more people," Chris was telling me.

          Just then, our main Agency backup arrived. Vaughn, Weiss and Leticia all looked ready for duty. Befitting agent's honor, I stood as they arrived.

          "Welcome back."


	2. Scope of Evidence

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

          "Excuse me for not shedding any tears."

          Chris, Lex and I glanced across the table at Kevin, startled. Not typical Kevin Blaisdell behavior. This was the guy who could go full shifts in silence, playing to the young and stupid stereotype when in fact he was hyperobservant and dedicated. That's why I'd asked him to join me on the team: he probably knew all the secrets we all thought we'd never let on to. Pleased that he'd graced us with his voice, I just nodded.

          "You're forgiven."

          "When's Steve coming in?" Chris asked, referring to the seventh and final team member, criminologist and special tactics expert Stephen Claire, about whom I made many Alexis Denisof jokes. I checked my watch. "He was at Division. Give him a few minutes. Until then I'm dividing us up into two squads. Lex will captain our home team, stay on top of data. Kevin, Eric, Chris, you're on. When Steve gets here, the rest of us will case Michelle's apartment."

          I looked around the table and saw no dissent, so we headed for the main floor and somewhere to start. Chris hung behind to set up a day of disappearance timeline on a whit board in the room which would be our mission office, Lex went to begin customary tracking procedures, and I walked over to my best friend for a discussion of the more serious kind.

          "Here we go again," I said, deadpan.

          She chuckled. "Yeah, try not to get us all killed this time."

          "Working on it." 

          "What do you need me to do?"

          "You're the recon chick. Do some recon. Track her down. Chris, Eric, Lex, Kevin, their thing is information, finding things out, you know? You, me, Vaughn, we take those pieces and we find her and we bring her back." I paused, glancing up and over at the main doors of CTU; Steve had shown up from Division with a piqued look on his face, and I raised a hand to flag him down. "Anyway, grab your car keys. We're leaving in five minutes."

          I crossed the floor to meet Steve midway. I had phoned him on his cell and briefed him already, so there was no explaining necessary. Our residence science guru and firepower coordinator (odd combination, yes, but that's what he'd decided to study in training camp, and he made it work) regarded me with that same cocktail of ambivalence and nervousness. We all hated her, but at the same time we all feared for her, or what might become of her, or because of her. "I'm not holding anyone up am I?" he asked me, and I shook my head. "Just in time. You and I are going over to her place with the CIA guys. The others are going to see if they can find us some leads or something."

          He had time to grab his big metal criminology briefcase before he pivoted on his heel and headed for the doors again. Leticia and Vaughn swept in from my right to join the formation. I looked up to Jack's office on the way out and gave him a hand signal that let him know things were happening. I was sure things would get crazy soon enough, and give me another chance – like it or not – to redefine my time.

Former Residence of Michelle Dessler Los Angeles 

          "Everybody makes things so complex," Steve muttered, easily able to pick the lock on Michelle's door. We could've asked the super, which is what Vaughn had suggested, but the guy who would be the closest thing to MacGyver if MacGyver was crossed with John Doggett just groused and set to work. Finally the lock popped and Steve pushed the door, getting to his feet. I followed him in, knowing we were standing in the middle of the best chance we had. "You guys know what to do," I added needlessly, because they did.

          Personally I set off through the living room. A person's living room says a lot about them to the people that have to be in it. You can easily identify our living room in San Marcos: the _Coupling_ DVD that's still on the table is mine, the meticulously labeled and timed videotapes are Leticia's, and the poster from that Jeremy Piven movie _Just Write_ was a mutual choice (she likes the movie, I like Jeremy Piven, and hey, the movie was all right, natch). Meaning the following: I'm not that organized and I have broad horizons, she is meticulously organized and intelligent, and we are slightly liberal. Don't see how I made those jumps? Most people don't, and that's why we have evidence technicians who do.

          I knelt down in front of Michelle's coffee table and surveyed the room from that height, hoping to catch something that was in some small corner as things so often get to. "I say we just take a round of photos, sweep the place, and get out," I said to no one in particular. "We waste too much time here and she slips away."

          "Too little and we miss something," Vaughn said. I looked over my shoulder, accepting the point. "That's why I'm saying take care of business right the first time." He nodded. "Always my intention."

          Leticia yelled for me, and I turned from her handler-boyfriend-whatever he was and ran in the sound of her voice. She was standing next to a discarded metal briefcase, one that I knew well (because we all had one) as belonging to CTU. "What do you think?" she said. "What did she walk out with?"

          "God knows," I said, "but that now makes her a flight risk, not just missing. She's just gotten herself into a world of hurt." I grabbed my cell phone and went to make the call.

          "Gautreau."

          "Chris, it's me. Michelle absconded with … something. One of our briefcases is empty on her bed. I'll try to find out what."

          "She stole something? I'll notify Jack to put out a threat classification," he said, following procedure: she wasn't just missing, she was now a threat because she could have anything in her hands. Lex was motioning for the phone, and he handed it over. 

          "You said she walked off with something?" my partner asked.

          "That's right."

          "I put tracers in all of that stuff, per new procedure," he said, tapping at keys already, "I should be able to zero in on her location if she hasn't been able to disable it already. But if she's as good a security specialist as she should be, I'm not holding my breath."

          I stood there waiting for a few seconds, getting more and more nervous with each one. Leticia kept looking at me, waiting for me to say something. 

          "Got it. It's been damaged, but she didn't break it."

          "Where is she?"

          "Heading upstate."

          "Get everybody ready and tell Jack. We're following her."

          I clapped my phone shut, spun on my heel, and in that moment became because I believed I had.

Counter Terrorist Unit 

**Los Angeles**

The place was buzzing with news. Behind me Steve went to grab more stuff from his locker, clapping me on the shoulder and insisting he'd only be a minute. Leticia and Vaughn, dispatched, went to helping Chris and Kevin get their stuff together. Lex waved me over as he grabbed his jacket, insisting that there was something I needed to see. I jogged on over. Lex's got good instincts.

          "I was checking Michelle's name against flights, or recent ticket purchases…"

          "Good…"

          Jack came down the stairs and approached us. He had the keys to a CTU van in his hands and flipped them to Lex, who caught them instantly. "Anything new?"

          I shook my head. "We can't tell what she stole. We'll have to ask her ourselves. I'm just looking at this thing Lex wants me to see…"

          Lex pointed at the screen. "I found this. Michael Colefield left London last night, heading for LAX. He should be here in a few hours."

          I think I went stark white, and I just nodded. 

          "Is he involved in this?" Jack asked, knowing Michael's name from the London debriefing.

          "No, Jack," I said, "he sure as hell isn't. I … we need to go, now."

          I couldn't get out of there fast enough. But I couldn't keep running forever.


	3. To Burn In LA

Somewhere In Los Angeles 

Sitting in my usual passenger seat across from Chris Gautreau, who was driving while Lex continued to feed him updated information on Michelle's tracer, I folded my hands in my lap. This was probably no big deal. She probably got spooked and ran. Obviously she didn't take much of her stuff with her, at least not that we could figure out. She probably saw something, got scared and thought she didn't have a way out. A woman like her might think that way, as unprepared as she was. She wasn't even heading for the airport…

          The airport.

          I choked.

          "You okay?" Lex said, arching an eyebrow as he looked up from his laptop screen.

          "I'm fine," I insisted, waving him off. As partners are psychics, he was unconvinced but left me to myself. "How are we doing?" I continued, trying to change the subject, looking back into the rear where he was sitting across from Kevin, with Leticia, Weiss and Vaughn in the row behind them. Kevin was busy making notes in his steno pad and I assumed he was on to something good, while Vaughn was busying himself with making sure all the things we had brought – just some fail-safe and crime scene stuff – actually worked.

          My partner exhaled. "This thing's sputtering like crazy. We could lose it any time."

          "We'll have to make this quick, then." My glance shot to the quiet one in the van. "Kevin? What's up?"

          "She has one of our spiders," he said matter-of-factly, and we all stared at him. Like I said, this guy is good and he can make something out of nothing any day. "The box specifications match the ones I saw in the prototype from the manual. She's planning to steal data. Or she already has."

          "Great." Chris poured on the sarcasm. "Any indication either way?"

          "Can't tell you yet. Lex, what about the…"

          "We just lost the tracer!"

          I swore, very loudly and for emphasis. I had to make a decision and quick, and I did it with rapid-fire authority. "Lex, what was her last action? Can you chart where she might be headed?" I said, almost desperately. We had an APB out on her car, but that wouldn't be of use, not this far away.

          "Not well, but…" His eyes met mine again. "I think she was turning around."

          "How do you want to play this?" Chris asked. The car had stopped at a light and he was prepared to either keep going or hang a U-turn. I had about three seconds to make up my mind.

          "We're going back," I said, and he hung the vehicle into a sharp turn. I nodded to Kevin. "Get CTU on the phone and tell Jack we need some assistance. Tell him what's going on, tell him to get ready." Then I looked to anyone in the car. "Why would she turn around? Why now? She has to know we're looking for her."

          Kevin put his hand over the receiver. "Maybe she wants to be caught."

          "If she wanted to be caught, she'd never have run," Weiss pointed out, but Kevin by then was on the phone and the question was in the air for anyone to field.

          "She could be going to the airport," Vaughn interjected. "It's only about fifteen minutes from our current position. Maybe she freaked and realized she has to get out faster than driving can get her."

          There was that airport thing again.

          My breath hitched.

          "It's as good a guess as we've got," Weiss told me. "I'd take it."

          I paused, then nodded to Chris. "You made the right call," he said as he drove, but I didn't believe him. The last thing I wanted to do was chase Michelle Dessler through an international airport. Or was that deal with the possibility that Michael might be at the airport? I pretended I wasn't sure. Instead, I told Weiss to phone airport security.

          "A few hours?" I said to Lex.

          He brought up another window. "I don't know for sure. It's about twelve hours, and he left at eleven last night." He spoke softly and I respected that show of respect. "He should be here at eleven."

          "It's just after ten now," I said, then fell silent. "All right. Thanks."

          "No problem." I heard the friendly concern in his voice where it mingled with empathy. My eyes turned to the road. "Let's hope for everyone that we stop this and now."

Los Angeles International Airport 

**Los Angeles**

The van was at a dead stop in one of the airport parking lots. Airport security had been notified to watch for Michelle's car, but the one thing about tracking people to an airport is that they could be at one of a whole lot of terminals. To that end we sat in the silent vehicle making sure we all had handcuffs and some sort of weapon and trying to figure out if we should just pick a random number.

          "Airport security has to let us know when they spot her, right?" Weiss said. "What else can we do?"

          "I hate waiting," Chris muttered.

          "You have a better idea?" I asked. He fell silent and shook his head, so I scanned the group. "Everybody has what they need? All right. So…"

          Nobody finished the sentence. On that note, I excused myself and popped open my door, stepping out of the van. The airport was as it always is, looking less busy than it really is on the inside. I wondered how many people I might put at risk. To my knowledge Michelle was unarmed and not a threat, but that was just the thing, what did I really know about her? And what, I was going to haul her back to CTU? I had suggested after London that Division open a team on tracking Nina's activities, and they had, and they were still finding things. I was going to the weekly meetings learning new things all the time and Nina was still awaiting trial. Who was to say Michelle didn't have the same kinds of horrors in her closet?

          _Because she's Michelle_, part of me said to myself.

          _This is too easy. It isn't right, it isn't real_, another part said.

          Before I could tell both those parts to shut the hell up, I heard the back door slide open and shut, and looked over to see Lex standing there. He came over to stand beside me, looking out at the traffic with me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Anything I can do?" he asked me quietly.

          I shook my head. "We've just got to wait it out."

          "And the rest of it?"

          "It's not about him, Lex. We have a job to do." I sighed, looking down at asphalt. "And I don't want to feel that kind of pain again."

          The two of us looked at each other for a long moment. I knew he was remembering the times I'd come into work without having slept the previous night, the time I'd broken down and cried to him in the break room about how much pain I was feeling from some cold place inside myself. I knew he couldn't ever remember how hard it had been to recover just to get to that point. Finally, I exhaled. "Get back in the van, see if you can reconstruct something."

          "You sure?"

          "Yeah, I'm sure."

          I knew he didn't want to go and leave me like that. But I heard the door open and shut again anyway. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I felt a headache coming on. 

          I was almost being lured into some daydream wherein Michael and I were working together and taking on the world – maybe it was a nightmare – when Chris yelled for me to get back into the car, they'd spotted her coming in and she was heading for a terminal just down the way. I jumped in and a few minutes later was clamoring out again. I told Chris, Kevin and Steve to work the perimeter. Michelle hadn't gotten that good of a look at Weiss, Leticia and Vaughn, or at least I hoped that was the case. I lead them into the terminal. We took up positions covering the floor. Any moment now, something had to happen.

          "Got anything, recon chick?" I asked hopefully over my ear radio.

          "Stop calling me that," she chuckled. "And … no … hang on …"

          "Which is it, yes or no?"

          "I've got her. Coming in far door, heading for the United desk. I'll tail her."

          "Let her check in. Give her a bit, let's see what she's got going on. Everybody else, space out. Leticia, get me some flight information." I began to move toward my friend's position, or just to get a better angle of it. I could see Vaughn moving to cover his – whatever she was these days – and Weiss angling in to back me up.

          "I'll try," Leticia said and I saw her slipping into the small crowd. I told the perimeter guys to come on in and hang back until I gave them further instructions.

          Over my earpiece: "She's heading upstairs."

          "I'll beat her to it," I said, turning and heading for the elevator, giving instructions to everyone else to follow me in due time. "Leticia, stay on her but don't apprehend her. What gate and what flight?" She told me all she could, including a gate number and that it was not an international flight. That was a good sign. I didn't know where she intended to go but at least it wasn't London. As the elevator disgorged me, I crossed my fingers and headed for the end of the line.


	4. Fast Changes

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles 

I knew I was just heartbeats from making it all end. Leticia and I could corner Michelle Dessler and if we couldn't there were five guys behind me who could help me out just as well. No matter what was on that spider she wasn't getting anywhere with it. I was quite sure of this fact as I took up a defensive position on the concourse in case Michelle tried to double back. Where was she? It couldn't take that long unless she'd spotted one of our team members … I hate this clandestine stuff.

          "Leticia," I hissed quietly.

          "Coming up," she said quickly. "Almost there."

          "Vaughn."

          "Got her covered."

          "Right." I continued to scan the crowd and not think of how people could be hurt or killed if I did something incredibly stupid right then. That's my big hangup as a field agent. I spend too much time worrying about the possible. In a room I can execute a given order without worry. But when the results can look you right in the face it's a dangerous thing. I blinked away any harmful thoughts as soon as I came within sight of Leticia and slipped into the crowd a distance back from her. I was able to see Vaughn moving in my direction. Weiss had already made it up ahead.

          I couldn't see Michelle but obviously she hadn't spotted anyone yet. I wanted to wait to make any move until I could get out of this group of people and into the clear of the terminal. Finally we made it into the massive cavernous section of the airport and people began to fan out, to peel off. I needed just a few more seconds…

          "Now. Take her out."

          Vaughn passed me by and Weiss started forward at the same time Leticia put her shoulder into Michelle's back. Both women went down with a loud crunch on the tile floor, and Leticia acted on well trained instincts (my kudos to Vaughn and Weiss for that). Kneeling on Michelle's back she handcuffed her and then pulled her up. I jogged forward as we all converged, holding the compliments on my tongue until I was absolutely sure this was done with.

          Unfortunately for me the woman Leticia had in custody was not Michelle Dessler.

          She could have been. They looked like they were related, but this was not Michelle. There was a different kind of fear in this young woman's eyes that said she didn't recognize me at all, which she should have if she had handled my security work as often as she had. I was racking Michelle's file in my head as I said, "Where's Michelle and who are you?"

          "I'm her sister. Heather." The woman was out of breath. "She said you'd come."

          Great. Her family was complicit. Right. I put my hand to my earpiece, told anyone listening to phone CTU and say we didn't have her even as I looked over and saw Steve and Kevin approaching. "I work with your sister," I continued, "and we need to find her now. Where is she, Heather?"

          "You're going to find her like this?" Her skepticism bordered on hostility and I knew I had to bring her back. 

          I exhaled, choosing my words carefully. "She disappeared from CTU," I said, "and she has a vital piece of technology that she stole from the Agency. I need that back, and I need to know she's okay. If she's in trouble, if something has happened to it or to her, there could be a lot of trouble for more than just your sister. I understand we're being drastic, but we're working on borrowed time. Heather, I need you to tell me where Michelle is."

          Pause.

          "She's on her way to Long Beach. We have family there."

          "Great. Thank you." I nodded to Leticia to uncuff our non-suspect and she did. "Now I'm going to give you a choice," I said, realizing how I sounded like Jack, "I can let you go, or you can come with us. I have to ask you, however, that you not notify your sister that we're coming. If we lose her again we might not find her. Do you understand?"

          Heather nodded.

          "I'll give you a moment to think about it. Leticia, hang out, okay?" I said, leaving my best friend to watch our best hope as I turned and walked right into Kevin and Steve. I quickly explained what had just been said to them. "Have Lex start pulling information out of her personnel file, and prepare a plan," I said. "I'm going to run to the bathroom and wash up, I'll be right back, and then we leave immediately." 

          As I started to walk away, Steve called after me. "Nice work."

          "We're not done yet," I said, and kept walking. Another detriment of mine is my ability to get endlessly and permanently frustrated. If I didn't have Jack, who is the ultimate boss, friend and mentor and the perfect shoulder to lean on and hand to lift me up, I would probably be quite screwed up in the head right now. It's never as easy as I think it should be.

          I spent a few minutes trying to locate the bathroom, then slipped inside and washed up. That didn't do much for the sleep deprivation lines under my eyes, but at least it got me feeling a little better and the cold water kind of woke me up a bit. Determined to do better than before I stepped out of the bathroom and leaned against a pylon, buying my team time and trying to figure out our next move. How Jack could rest so much on me so faithfully I really don't ever know.

_*So when I feel like running I have to look inside_

_I want to find the answers_

_I want to break my life*_

Knowing the team would take care of everything, I decided to take a trip around the corner. I'm not sure if that was the smartest or stupidest thing I've ever done.

          As soon as I rounded the corner he was there and I was forced to look into his eyes again. Here he was, the man that had displaced my harmless Jack Davenport fantasies, flesh and blood and heart and soul. He was still wounded but brave, sensitive and sympathetic, with a hurt charisma that had drawn me to him in a way I never expected. He looked at me, into me, through me, and managed a small smile. I guess that's the best we could do considering the way we left it.

          That's how my universe spun for what seemed like forever but had only been a month: there was God and everybody, and then there's Michael Colefield.

_*Take me as I am_

_I'm not broken_

_Pieces of my life are not tokens_

_I want to let you know that I'm still learning_

_How to love again and stop hurting*_

"You're not supposed to be here, Michael," I said, the only sentence I could get out.

          "The flight was early." His voice was soft, suffering. "I overheard airport security. Thought it might be you. I was … I was hoping, actually."

          "I have a job to do," I said, feeling like I'd start crying over him if I stood there much longer. "I can't do this," I finally got out, turning away from him before he could hurt me any more than he already had.

          "Can't do what?" he said, but I did not turn around.

          "I can't handle being with you." I was not ashamed to admit this. "You hurt me, Michael. You're the only one who's ever hurt me, because I loved you. And I won't go through it again."

          I started walking away. I've done a lot more walking away of recent.

_*I need to find forgiveness when all the pain is done_

_I want to hear 'I'm sorry,' I want to let you go_

_I have to find my own life, I want to learn to grow*_

"You're just going to leave it like this then?" he said after me.

          I pivoted on my heel. "Give me a reason to leave it another way." My voice was getting hard around the edges. I was having flashbacks back to the nights I'd sat on Leticia's bed and cried for hours about how all I could do was fall in love and get brutalized for it. And those didn't make me diplomatic.

          "I didn't come out here to hurt you, Brittany." His voice found its level. "That was never my intention."

          "Then what?" I felt water pressing behind my eyes.

          "I'm here because something inside me told me I had to be." Michael was trying to make eye contact with me, and I avoided it by looking away. I knew as soon as I met those eyes with their perpetual determined light, I would do anything, and I just couldn't be that selfless anymore. "You talked about trusting the soul and that's exactly what I did. Now if there's something going on today, I want to be right there with you."

          "Until you leave again," I said.

          He fell silent. I thought I was going to lose it. "Do what you want," I choked out. "I can't stop you."

_*Take me as I am_

_I'm not broken_

_Pieces of my life are not tokens_

_I want to let you know that I'm still learning  
How to love again and stop hurting*_

Michael followed me back across the way where everyone was still waiting. I didn't bother to say a word about him being there, but I saw the uneasiness on Leticia's face, the well hidden abrasions in Lex's eyes, and the open hostility on Weiss's face that said he was just waiting for the right moment.

          "Heather won't be coming with us," Steve said in the silence.

          I nodded. "That's fine. Thank you, Ms. Dessler. I'll keep you informed." Then I surveyed the rest of the group. "Let's get out there."

          Silently, we all exited the terminal and headed down the escalator toward where Chris was supposed to be bringing the van around. I took a long, deep breath like I knew it would be my last. Our work was not done, and I wondered if it ever quite would be done. That brought up annoying theoreticals I could not consider now. Leading my field team, I tried to protect them from the storm I felt coming.

          Behind me, Weiss shot a cold glare in Michael's direction, and said in a completely merciless tone, "If you screw her around again, I'll kill you."

          He'd found his moment. We just had to find ours, and I'd be damned if Michael Colefield or anyone or anything else was going to keep us from what we knew was left ahead of us. Everything we do matters, including what we haven't done yet, and it was time to get it done.


	5. Standing

Heading for Long Beach 

I was curled up with my head resting on my seat belt, trying to get in some sleep on the ride up. It was Lex's idea and I had been forcefully nudged into it by some of the other people in the van. Except it wasn't going as well as I thought. Michael was probably going to get murdered by at least two people in the van and I wouldn't stop it, and the rest of them were busy worrying about finding Michelle Dessler, which was the point we all seemed to have forgotten temporarily. Grumbling I tried to blink myself back into consciousness.

          "You really need to sleep," Lex reminded me. He'd taken over driving from Chris a while ago, largely, I figured, so he would resist the urge to kill Michael. I'd cried to him on more than one occasion, and you know partners don't let partners' suffering go unchallenged. I stared at the car ceiling. "It's impossible," I insisted. "In a situation like this…"

          "I know," he said, "but you have to try."

          "Later. When it's over," I insisted, pulling myself back to a sitting position again. "How far are we?"

          "We're about halfway there," Chris piped up helpfully.

          "All right. Now, I do not want everybody storming the place, obviously," I said, turning to look at everybody but Michael in the back seat. "Everybody carries but conceals, everybody takes this easy, you hear me? This is a coworker we're dealing with, not a terrorist … like last time." I hesitate on those last three words. "I'm going in the front, and Steve you're with me. Everybody else, set up a perimeter just in case. I won't say never."

          "We've got it. Don't worry about it."

          "I do worry about it."

          "I know."

          "What do you think she is, a hypochondriac?" Michael shot.

          I glanced in his direction. Chris, for his part, rode it out. "I think she's my coworker and technically my boss and I understand that she needs to deal with things I don't have to. And I don't even know who the hell you are, so…"

          "I happen to be…"

          "Would you two drop it?" I cut in. "Please. This is not the point."

          Everyone in the car fell silent and we said very little for a long while.

          "Now. I am going to sleep and you all are going to shut the hell up."

          I flounced back in my seat, closed my eyes, and began to mentally reevaluate my opinions of everyone I was dealing with. Chris, Kevin and Steve had always been pretty solid for CTU, although we hadn't worked together extensively that much, and I wouldn't have called on them if I didn't think they would be successful operators under my command. Lex was my partner – no doubts, no secrets, no lies, no holding back – and I had my mind made up about him from the moment we became that way.

Leticia was, of course, my best friend and she had a mean ranting capability. Vaughn I liked, and I was willing to cut him some slack because he happened to be close to Leticia. Then there was the Weiss thing. Then there was the 'I'm trying but lying when I say it's all behind me' Michael thing. Those two could cancel each other out if Weiss had his way. He had a death glare on his face every time he had to so much as look in Michael's direction. It all made my head hurt like a Berghof lecture.

Hopefully the pain would end for all of us sooner rather than later. But I had a feeling that with all the unfinished business it would probably be much later. 

Residence of Michelle Dessler's Brother Long Beach 

"Are we there yet?" Weiss joked as Lex parked the van down the street. I rolled my eyes but half smirked anyway as I climbed out, waiting for Steve to follow me. I didn't wait for the others, just hooked up with the special tactics wizard and headed for the front door of the suburban residence that belonged to Brian Dessler and his wife Carla. I didn't figure this to be the easiest of takedowns, given that we'd been duped once. As Jack had told me when I'd phoned: "Loyalty is often misguided, but it's always stronger than hell."

          We headed up the front walk, rang the doorbell, and produced our Agency warrant cards. With mine being changed since my promotion I thought I might be able to come off sounding more important than I was. However, I let Steve do all the talking, and he managed to do it with clarity and grace. Steve's a good diplomat.

          Brian looked from Steve to me. "You just missed her."

          "Did she say where she was going?" Steve asked urgently.

          "No, just that she had to go and she didn't know if she'd be back." He looked at the both of us. "Is she in trouble, Agents?"

          "I can't say," I admitted, "but it's trouble that could find her if we don't."

          He seemed shocked and appalled. I don't blame him. Upon Steve's question he said that he'd try to come up with a list of places Michelle could have gone. I radioed the guys and told them there was no further dice on the situation, then stepped inside the house with Steve and popped out my cell phone, dialing home base again. I really didn't want to be on another road trip. Those seemed to be disastrous.

          "Bauer."

          "Jack, it's me. At her brother's. She's not here and he doesn't know where she is."

          Jack exhaled. "Damn it. Nothing here either."

          "She can't just have disappeared … Jack, what do you want me to do?"

          "Unless he gives you a solid lead, bring it home. She's got to be here somewhere."

          "Got it. See you at home." I hung up and looked to Steve. "Jack says bring it in."

          He nodded. "I'll get the list and we'll send out search parties."

          "I'll round up the team." I thanked Brian Dessler for his help, then walked out of the house, down the walk and toward the van. Everyone else had kind of gotten the hint and was loitering around said van. It was now somewhere in the afternoon and most of us probably hadn't stopped for food or a rest break since that morning before we had all been called in. We were a little restless, a little beaten, and completely clueless. I explained to them what Jack had said and we threw around a few procedural ideas before Steve emerged with a list of mostly L.A. locations and we set off once more. I nearly slammed my hand in the door on accident as I slipped into the back seat, letting Kevin take the lead.

_*Underneath the confidence_

_I will never say I'm strong enough_

_To be alone*_

As I stared at the ceiling, I felt Michael looking at me and Weiss looking at Michael. I let out a long breath. "I wish this were easier," I said mostly to myself. 

          "It can never be easy," Michael said to me gently, "but I know how you feel."

          "I know you do," I said, looking at him, "and then you left me alone to face it myself."

          "It wasn't easy for me either."

          "Well you don't know how hard it was for me."

_*Do you know how it feels to be angry_

_Do you know how it feels to be hurt_

_When you live all your life for a moment_

_Just to prove that you know what it's worth_

_Do you know*_

"That's right, I don't. I can only guess. But that works both ways."

          "Michael… we can't go down this road again."

          "Our road, you mean."

          "Damn straight our road. There's too much going on that's not about us. And there's too much going on that is about us. It's just too much, period."

          "Would it be easier if I were here?"

          "I wouldn't know."

          "I was hoping they would be."

_*Will you trust in a better tomorrow_

_If you learn to forgive every day_

_All the times that you thought could be trusted_

_In the end they could all fall away*_

I nodded. "What do you want me to say, Michael? The wound is like yesterday to me. What do you expect?"

          "I don't know, I just … came all the way out here because I wanted to. Because I …"

          "You thought that I still loved you?" I said.

          "Maybe." He didn't know what to say to that.

          "Michael … I do still love you. I've never stopped loving you. And I thought you loved me."

          "I don't…" He exhaled, hesitated. "I wouldn't have come all the way out here when you asked if I didn't care."

          "Asked you? I didn't ask you for anything, Michael."

          "What about all those e-mails?"

_*Do you know how it feels to be angry_

_Do you know how it feels to be hurt_

_When you live all your life for a moment_

_Just to prove that you know what it's worth*_

I froze. "Michael, what did you just say?"

          "You e-mailed me."

          "No, I didn't."

          "Yes, you did." 

          "Lex will prove it to you. We haven't been in contact since that phone call." Something inside me twisted. "What e-mail address was it from? My work address or my one at home?"

          "Your work address."

          "Have you got copies of those e-mails? I want to see them. Whoever that was, that wasn't me."

          Emotions fought in his eyes: a bitter understanding of what that meant, and a pleadingly desperate desire for it to have really been meall along. Silence fell as we all understood. Especially now that I understood, again, the man I had never forgotten to begin with.

_*Will you trust_

_Will you learn_

_All the times that you thought you could be trusted_

_In the end they could all fall away*_

"Lex," I said carefully, looking right at the man that had always been with me, "notify Jack. When we get back, I want a security lockdown in place."

          "Got it."

          Michael and I locked eyes for the first time in a long while. This time, with the pain, with the absence of fear, I felt a feeling that was either my conciliation or my undoing: the desperate want for things to turn out different from before. I felt him reach for my hand, and I didn't let go. I couldn't let go again.


	6. What Remains

Counter Terrorist Unit 

**Los Angeles**

"How long's it going to take to run a full viral scan?" Jack asked me as I stood with Tony in his office.

          "Lex says an hour or two. He got on it pretty quick, so…"

          "How long has this been going on?" Tony asked me.

          I sighed. "According to Michael, the first e-mail he got from me was about four days after I left England, two days after we spoke on the phone. So just under a month."

          "You think it could be related to Nina?"

          "I don't know. I really don't. It wouldn't make sense, though. Those e-mails – I've seen them – contain some specific information about both me and Michael. I don't know if some random terrorist who only knew we were fighting together could place us as personally involved with each other."

          "One of us, then." Tony seemed unsettled by the possibility. "Michelle?"

          "No, it couldn't be. Yeah, the guys on the team knew, but they're all clean, they've got no reason to drag him out here. They all looked just as surprised as I was to see him. And I never spoke of it to anyone other than Lex, Leticia and Jack." I nodded in my boss' direction. "Honestly? I think it got out on his end somehow, and somebody is using it against him."

          "What would they want him here for?" Jack asked.

          "Or what would they want him out of there for?" I echoed.

          We all fell silent, considering this. I looked down at the floor. Lex was at his station working double-time to get things moving and Weiss was helping him out, playing with my paperweight for good measure. The others were all similarly occupied, including Chris updating Michelle's day of disappearance timeline that had now been wheeled out onto the main floor. Michael was just hanging back, knowing that he didn't belong and at this rate never would. I excused myself from Jack and Tony's company and headed back downstairs.

          "What's going on with that list?"

          Steve glanced up. "We're sorting it out geographically, assigning teams to make some sweeps out."

          "I'm still going," Lex piped up, "but there's no indication of her having modified data or of there ever being any tampering in the system."

          I groaned. "Keep trying. What's our next move?"

          "I don't think we have a next move," Chris interrupted. "We have an APB out for her sister's car, we have to assume she plugged in a spider and stole a lot of data, but we won't know what's going on until these sweeps get made and the system gets checked. And it's getting into the evening. Why don't we all at least stop and get food. Go home for an hour or two and come back. This is our only downtime – once things get started, we're not leaving."

          We all looked at each other, knowing he was right, but not wanting to admit it. CTU agents are stubborn that way.

          "Chris is right," Jack said from behind me, "you need a break. Get out of here and I'll see you in two hours unless something breaks." At my best Dana Scully uber-skeptic look, he insisted, "We've got it covered."

          Lex raised a hand. "I'm not leaving. I'm the only one who can cover this."

          Weiss glanced at him. "Need some help with that?"

          "If you'd like."

          "It's okay."

          "I'm going to stay on to dispatch the teams," Steve said, "I've got it taken care of almost."

          I grabbed my jacket off of my chair and started for the door, knowing my best friend would be behind me any moment now. She tapped me on the shoulder. "Vaughn and I were going to go get something to eat," she said, "did you want to come along?"

          I thought about this, then shook my head. "Just drop me off and bring something back for me."

          "Are you all right?"

          "Yeah," I said, "I just need to be alone for a while."

Home Base San Marcos 

_*There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost_

_But you'll never reach the end of the road_

_While you're traveling with me*_

Sixpence None The Richer played on the living room stereo as I sat on the couch looking at the notes I'd taken throughout the course of the day in my copy of Michelle's file. It was a CD I'd borrowed from Leticia's room, but I knew she wouldn't mind. A lot of my notes were just little observations and didn't mean much. I kept thinking back to moments I remembered Michelle being involved in and wishing I'd paid a lot more attention. But then how was I to know she'd do a runner?

          I took a long drink of soda and turned another page. I was going to get this right if it kept me up all night, which it probably would. As an active agent since London, I had a lot more responsibility than just a civilian technician. At least hopefully Leticia and Vaughn were having a good time. They both deserved it.

          The phone rang, and I grabbed it.

          His voice was urgent, desperate. "Tell me you're okay."

_*Hey now, hey now_

_Don't dream it's over_

_Hey now, hey now_

_When the world comes in*_

"I'm all right, Michael," I said, turning my attention to the conversation. "What's happening?"

          "I just blasted a Code Five. In the parking garage of my hotel."

          I choked. I knew about Code Fives – vampires – from Michael's work in London. He worked for CIB, a Vatican-funded branch of the government dedicated to defending England from the vampire incursion which had recently begun as vampires that had peacefully coexisted with humans now came out to fight a war against "pollution of their food supply" (namely, humans). I don't know about you, but I'm not an appetizer. "Are you sure?"

          "Positive."

          "How can they be here?"

          "I don't know. But it's not a coincidence. I'm calling Pearse right now, and then I'm coming to get you."

          I didn't fight him this time. "I'll be ready," I said, and hung up the phone feeling sick. Missing CTU agents, a computer virus, and now vampires – it was as if the world was just falling apart. I stood, dropping my paperwork, and went to find my gun. It wouldn't do me a damn bit of good against the Code Fives, but it made me feel better. I loaded the weapon, clicked off the safety, and said to hell with everything else.

_*They come, they come_

_To build a wall between us_

_Don't ever let them win*_


	7. Dire Exchange

Los Angeles Hilton Hotel Parking Garage 

**Los Angeles**

The pavement crunched as I walked, a sound not akin to bone breaking. I tried not to think about that.

          Instead, I shot a glance over at Michael as we continued toward the spot where his confrontation with the Code Five had gone down. It was cold outside and I'd thrown on my windbreaker, but he seemed indifferent to the weather. In fact, he seemed to be in a kind of stasis, both mortified that his homeland battle had followed me home and determined to do his vampire hunter duty and put an end to it. I knew he'd never forgive himself if anything happened that remotely involved Code Fives on my home soil.

          "What did Pearse say?" I asked.

          "He's looking into it." His voice was edgy, and I didn't blame him.

          We finally reached the other side of the parking garage – Michael had insisted on parking on the opposite end, for reasons I didn't quite know but I assumed were procedural – and I could see the scorch marks on the graying asphalt. Michael had taken care of the ashes and stored them in a CIB regulation container as soon as the hit had gone down. Thankfully for him and for us, Vaughan Rice, his co-worker who had helped us in London, had insisted that Michael travel with a CIB safety kit, including vampire storage containers, carbon-tipped bullets, and other special weapons. Nothing in CTU's vast arsenal was going to do anything for us now.

          "I parked the car and I was heading in when I saw him," he said, recounting the story slowly as if he were giving a witness statement, which indeed he was in a sense, "feeding off somebody in another vehicle. Called him out and blasted him. That's all there was to it." He looked up at me as if to wait for my interpretation of this very simple chronology, but I just shook my head. 

          I knew this was needling Michael to no end, this rapidly complicated adventure we were now both on, by his choice and my obligation, and I wasn't surprised to hear his next sentences charged with bitter conviction. "This isn't a coincidence, Brittany," he said firmly, "a computer virus luring me out here to you at the same Code Fives appear, there is a reason why someone wanted me out here." 

I accepted the point. "Or a reason why someone wanted you away from London. You told me CIB needed you on their side. Well, you're a hell of a lot easier to kill on your own and mixed up emotionally in Los Angeles than you are with Vaughan as backup and on the job in England." Michael looked at me like he hadn't considered that, but I kept going. "We're not ready for this fight, Michael. We don't have the right weapons, we don't have the knowledge. You can teach us, but who's going to be ready for the war?"

"I don't know. But we don't have much of a choice, do we?"

I didn't argue with him there.

"Come on," he said after a moment, "I want to get you equipped for this."

Together the two of us turned away from the inconspicuous circle on the asphalt and began walking toward the hotel's elevators. If you didn't know what you were looking for, you would never know that the invasion had begun.

Upstairs in his hotel room, I watched Michael open his second suitcase and start moving things around. I did not know you can fit two guns, two viewfinders, a whole box of ammunition, a half-dozen grenades and a medical emergency kit in one medium-sized suitcase. Talk about knowing how to pack. Loading the clip and attaching the viewfinder, he handed me the second firearm. "Take that and keep it with you," he said, and I put my gun in the interior pocket of my jacket and holstered his.

"What about everybody else?" I said.

"I'm not prepared for that," he said. "We'll have to make do until Vaughn can send additional supplies."

"We may not have that long."

"I know." Closing the suitcase and holstering his own weapon, he glanced at me. "But what else can we do, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know."

"You, uh … want to get a drink or something?"

Now I was able to smirk just a little. "Mike, the conversation we have to have is going to take a lot longer than one drink."

To my surprise, unlike most men on the planet, Michael took this in stride. "Everything's got a first part, right?"

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

"He's almost like a whole other third person in the situation. Only not saying much."

          Lex looked over at Weiss. "He _is_ a whole other third person, and he really isn't saying much, maybe because you want to kill him."

          "Yeah, well … I'm just saying, you know, when you consider your relationship with somebody, it's usually just the two of you. Like, look, with you and Brittany, it's just the dynamic between you and Brittany. You don't consider what Tony thinks or Jack. But with this whole thing, it's like I'm forced to involve Michael in any three words I say to her. He wasn't even ever her boyfriend, so it seems kind of … anal-retentive."

          "Anal-retentive?" Lex quirked an eyebrow. "Um … these things just take time. You want my opinion, he'll be out of here in a week and we'll be on this whole vicious circle all over again."

          "Despite the fact that that would drastically improve my chances, that really sucks." Weiss went back to typing.

          Lex was already going, then stopped, then nearly jumped. "God, I think we've just found it." He looked over at Weiss. "Get Jack. This is insane."

Los Angeles Hilton Hotel 

**Hotel Bar**

**Los Angeles**

"… and George actually wants me to write a proposal to Division on improving our internal network."

          "Well, are you going to do it?" Michael asked me, taking a long drink. I shrugged. "I'm going to do it. I just don't know if I'll be any good. But since he's Chappelle's interim replacement at least I've got him on my side."

          He laughed. "You'll be fine."

          "I'll believe it when I see it." I exhaled, ending on a chuckle. "Enough about me, though. What about you?"

          "The usual. Fighting the invasion, fighting Pearse, trying not to drink too much. That didn't work so much after you left." He looked in my direction as if to see how I might react, then continued, "I didn't know how alone I was feeling until being with you pointed it out to me."

          I met and held his gaze. "I'm used to that feeling. Even before you," I added quickly.

          "Both of us have got our problems," he admitted. "That's what holds us together."

          I started to say something, then was interrupted by the familiar whistling notes of my cell phone. I jumped. It was like being jostled out of one of those post-London daydreams back into reality. "Go ahead," I said quickly. "What's going on?"

          "We've figured it out."

          "On my way." Michael and I grabbed our jackets and ran for the exit, not even bothering to stay for a moment more in the land of might-have-been. It was time for the land of really-is-and-isn't-going-to-stop-unless-you-make-it-so-what-are-you-waiting-on.

Counter Terrorist Unit 

**Los Angeles**

"Follow the chain of events: we have a virus put here to trap Michael, Michelle leaves with a data spider, we can't find the virus." Lex was pacing the floor as Jack, Tony, Michael, Weiss, Steve and I looked on. The others were being called in immediately, but he wanted to explain it to us all right now, while it was still bubbling in his brain. "A spider can either put in or take out data. So: Michelle has removed the virus from the systems onto the spider and disappeared."

          "Why would she do that?" Steve said. "That's an admirable thing, not a crime."

          "That's what I don't understand."

          "The computer virus that broke your systems to get into Brittany's operating system was put there by people trying to lure me out of London to have me killed," Michael explained, continuing this train of thought, "so now, your missing woman and my death threat are connected, whether she knows it or not."

          "I don't think she does," I said.

          "Michelle's not the threat anymore," Chris said, getting to his feet. "She needs our help."


	8. War Crimes

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

Things were getting crazier and crazier and my head was spinning. Everything felt out of control, like I couldn't stop it, and somehow I had become the center of it again. What drove me insane was that it felt manageable if I could just find something that wasn't there.

          Heather Dessler had been called and was in an interrogation room with Kevin and Steve being interviewed again, and her brother was on a conference call in there. If we were going to find Michelle, her family looked like the best bet. Meanwhile, nothing substantial had been turned up on the searches – a few false alarms, but no flesh and blood security specialist. Chris was adding to the map, adding to the timeline, keeping the information running. Lex had multiplied our security programs triplefold and was now feeding Chris all the information he could possibly find. Leticia, Vaughn, Michael and I were waiting at the ready to investigate leads, but leads weren't coming.

          At least she hadn't left the area … as far as we knew.

          "Is there anything?" Leticia asked hopefully. 

Chris sighed. "I can't make any sense of this."

          "Welcome to the club," Vaughn deadpanned.

          "Hold on," Kevin said, emerging from the room. "Heather just tried to call her sister's cell phone. Michelle told her she's at Parker Air Force Base." Parker Air Force Base being a small AFB maybe half an hour out from CTU itself. We always heard planes flying over and such.

          "What the hell is at Parker?" Chris asked.

          "Who cares?" said Vaughn. "She's there."

          Michael checked his watch. "We'd better hurry. It'll be dark in an hour." Only he knew what I meant. He didn't want us out in the night if Code Fives could be jumping us when we weren't paying attention. I put a hand to the gun in my holster, but headed briskly for the parking lot. Leticia and Vaughn would take Leticia's car and scope out the place while Michael and I provided the big guns. I was the daughter of a military reservist, and that could help, but I'd never actually been to Parker…

          "She's not going there for the commissary, obviously," Vaughn quipped as we headed out to the parking lot. "We'll get the place covered for you, all you've got to do is make the pick-up."

          "We can do that," I said. "Good luck. Take care of yourselves."

          "Don't we always?" he said, smirking, and I chuckled and hugged Leticia goodbye before slipping into the passenger seat of the CTU vehicle Chris had allocated Michael earlier in the day. The sound of Leticia's Neon pulling out and getting on its way was cut off by the sound of Michael bringing the Toyota engine to life. He backed out of the parking space and swung the car around with significant dexterity. "What's your take on this?" he asked me.

          I shrugged. "Only the truth matters."

          He nodded, then put the car into drive, taking his hand off the gearshift and covering mine. As I looked into his eyes – so deeply committed that said he would do anything to put things right again for Michelle and for much more than her – he hit the gas and we moved ever forward into whatever was coming next. I might be a while from forgiving him, but I still needed him by my side.

Parker Air Force Base Los Angeles 

The sun was beginning to slip away, and with it, the blood in my veins ran hot as I thought of what might be rising to meet it. I turned my gaze away from the road over to Michael. The last sunlight was falling across the planes of his face and that made him look ever more like an ordinary man just trying to be a hero and not doing a half bad job. Despite the selfish pain, the world needed more people like Michael Colefield to defend what no one else would stand for. He was the kind who did things too important to show the world.

_*I'm a wounded soldier on a downtown train to your place_

_You launched a secret haunt with your face*_

He looked over in my direction, dark eyes betraying commitment mixed with concern and a sense of his own humanity. We made eye contact, and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. "We're going to find her," he said, and I didn't doubt him. It was myself I was doubting. 

_*You don't always say what I want to hear but you move me_

_I've crossed the rooftops, gone into the deep blue sea*_

I just nodded and he began to pull the car into a parking space. Leticia and Vaughn hadn't found anything yet, so it was time to give them a little backup. The two of us stepped out of the vehicle and surveyed the almost abandoned parking lot, spotting the red Neon almost instantly. Looking at him one more moment, I turned and circled around the car, and we started walking.

_*Did we not choose each other_

_Are we just heroes for a day_

_This time I will stand by you_

_And mine is the heart I will save*_

"Anything?" Michael asked, putting a hand to the ear radio Lex had outfitted him with.

          "We're on our way to the south computer lab," Vaughn replied, the audio crackling. "Best place to start as any."

          "We'll meet you there." He looked over at me. "South computer lab. Makes sense if she's carrying a spider."

          "About the only thing that does make sense, Michael."

          "Right." He was watching the area up ahead. "Let's see what we can do to change that, shall we?"

*I drew a hard line but I just can't see it  
Your colors are bleeding all over my secrets*

We slipped past the main building's gate officer without complaint (Vaughn had taken care of that; he's a smart guy, I'll give him that) and were told the appropriate location was actually not in this building but could be accessed via an emergency evacuation corridor in the sub-basement that, when followed, would lead across the complex to the technology headquarters building. I set off for the elevator and punched the right button. I was already breathing hard.

_*I want to be your star but I've got to learn to feel myself_

I want your love and I need your help*

Next to me and gripping the bar behind him, Michael glanced in my direction. "They should have found her by now."

"I told them not to advance. God knows." I paused. "I haven't forgiven you yet, you know."

"I know. I'll work on that."

"But I do appreciate your help." I watched the elevator lights as they neared B3. "Now let's do this."

_*Can we not judge each other_

_I'd rather wipe your tears away_

_I can follow my heart to the end_

_But I just can't choose the way*_

We met Leticia and Vaughn in the other building on the third floor down the hall. "She's in there," Vaughn said, pointing out the familiar form. "She hasn't noticed us yet, but I'm thinking it's only a matter of time."

          I watched her body language. "She's scared."

          "Can you blame her?" Michael said.

          "How do you want to play this?" Vaughn asked me.

          "Cover me," I said, then pushed open the door and walked in. Michelle didn't look that much different from when I had last seen her, well, except for the fact she wasn't as dressed up as she usually is at work. She was working away busily at a computer and I could see the spider hooked up to it. I don't know why I felt guilty then as I put my hand gently on her shoulder and said, "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

          Her head snapped over and I knew she recognized me instantly. "You don't understand…" she began, but I cut her off. "We know. You stopped the virus. You got it out of the system. I don't know why you ran."

          "I haven't stopped the virus yet. I needed help. That's why I came here." She looked at me. "I just got afraid. Something I couldn't handle. It was just … I couldn't take this anymore." She looked at me with scared eyes. "You can't take me back."

          "You'll have to go back to CTU eventually. Your sister's there, she's worried. But we're going to beat this virus and we're going to take care of you. Turns out, it's not just a virus."

          "What?"

          "It was used by somebody to impersonate me in the hopes of getting a friend of mine out here, away from his work and his home, to have him killed. That's going to mean we'll need your help. Are you in or out?"

          Michelle thought over this for a moment. "I'm in."

          "Good choice." I tried to smile. "Let's go."

          Outside, Vaughn smirked a bit. "She's done it."

          Michael was a little more ambivalent. "Yes, she has."

_*I don't want to take your pain away_

_Isn't yours to give, isn't mine to save_

_Here's my heart, here's my hand, here's my soul_

_Take it in, take it apart, take it easy, let it go*_

Michelle gathered her things and together we exited the lab to meet the rest of the team. She was adamant that we had to find an expert, or at least a computer, that could handle the virus, that was what she was trying to do. She was afraid she would be fired if she didn't do something proactive, if she couldn't handle it. She might still be fired – I couldn't lie to her – but at least it was better than being a suspected terrorist.

          "I'll call in," I said to Vaughn, "then I want to get a hotel room, give her time to compose herself and us time to figure out what to do about this virus and the death threat."

          "I'll make arrangements," he said, reaching for his own cell phone.

          I reached for mine and asked to be connected right to Jack. "We've got her," I said, "we're taking care of business." And then I hung up, leaving it at that. Past Michelle, I looked over at Michael, who didn't seem like he was feeling better about any of this at all. I wondered if he had just gone dead inside.

_*Did we not choose each other_

_Are we just heroes for a day_

_This time I will stand by you*_

Out at the car, we made the decision to transfer Michelle in the car with Michael and me since she knew me and only knew the others by reference. Vaughn had booked a hotel but didn't remember quite where it was. We pulled Leticia's Thomas Guide out of her trunk and started turning pages. It was now barely dark, though, so Vaughn pulled out his flashlight.

          "This is kind of creepy," I said to Michael, looking over my shoulder. Parker AFB was pretty much empty except for three people walking down our aisle, apparently heading inside.

Vaughn drew my attention by muttering something. He lost his grip on the flashlight for a second and it spun.

          As the light crossed the three security officers, they recoiled. My stomach went with them.

          Michael reached to his right for his firearm.

          "They're Code Fives."


	9. Borrowed Time

Parker Air Force Base Los Angeles 

Michael Colefield's Code Five-slaying experience: about a year's worth of explosions, subterfuge, chases, you name it, he's probably seen it. Of course his job is a flurry of on-the-job baptism-by-fire training. My Code Five-slaying experience: everything Michael had said to me and watching Anthony Head and James Marsters on _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_. Not exactly the same thing. And yet three Code Fives were right there, probably to kill Michael, and endangering our mission would be an added bonus. Experience was relative when you were experiencing.

          "Leticia, Vaughn, get back," I said quickly, producing the gun Michael had given me. "Get Michelle into the car and protect her."

          "What about…" Leticia started.

          "Don't worry about us," I said quickly, not adding, _I'm doing that already._

They obeyed my orders and briskly assisted Michelle into the back seat of the unlocked Neon. I think there's part of Leticia that still gets creeped out when she sees me with a gun. There's part of _me_ that still gets creeped out when I see me with a gun. But she had Vaughn to cover her, and as much as he cared for her, he'd do a bang-up job. I flipped the safety off of my gun and looked to Michael for instruction. He nodded subtly, and I prepared to fire.

          I didn't quite get that far. They must have recognized Michael or something, because the whole exchange turned into a melee. My first thought was to protect him, and I moved to intercede, but I got shoved out of the way. I felt a stabbing pain in my arm as I slid across the asphalt, knowing I'd hurt myself; still, I dragged myself back to my feet. Michael had dusted one and was dealing with the other two; remembering what he had done for me in London, I rushed in, grabbed one by the collar and threw him off. The two of us went down hard together, but I managed to pop off two shots into his torso. Michael dusted the other vampire.

          Breathing hard, I climbed to my feet from what was now a big pile of copper-colored dust. The pain in my arm was still there and I felt the stinging from when you lose skin but don't break it. I looked over at Michael who was easing back from being pinned against the car. "You all right?"

          "I'm fine." He was staring at me as Vaughn, Michelle and Leticia took that as their cue to climb out of the Neon's backseat. "You took on all three of them."

          "And?"

          "When you knew you'd lose."

          "I didn't care."

          We paused, and I went looking for something to suck up three piles of dust. "Leticia, I can't believe I'm saying this," I said over my shoulder, "did your dad leave the hand-vac in your car still?"

          She couldn't suppress a chuckle as she popped the trunk. Leticia's father is known for leaving things in her car after borrowing it when his car was in the shop and one of those things had at one point been a portable, battery-operated vacuum. She passed it to Michael, who passed it to me. I could not believe I was on my knees sucking up copper-colored debris from an air force base parking lot. "Have Vaughn call in the sitrep," I said, "and Michael, you want to explain to the others what just happened, please?"

          "Code Fives," Michael said quickly. "Vampires."

          Leticia was looking over at me, the resident _Buffy_ freak; Vaughn and Michelle were staring. I just nodded reassuringly. 

          "Forget your crosses, stakes and holy water," Michael was saying, "they can only be killed by carbon-tipped bullets and the active ingredient in garlic. And they can regenerate if their remains come in contact with the blood of a living Code Five, which is why we have to take that with us." He exhaled. "CIB's job is to take them out. That's why they've lured me to L.A., with the intent of … using my feelings for Brittany to make me vulnerable and kill me."

          "So what do we do?" Vaughn said after a moment.

          "What can we do?" I said, channeling my best Moira Kelly circa _The Cutting Edge_ kind of smirk. "We kick a little ass."

DoubleTree Suites Downtown Los Angeles 

The mood had calmed down but not gotten any more reassuring on the drive over. Vaughn had booked two adjoining rooms with the theory that since it was now late, driving back and getting everything sorted out was too much of a hassle. We would return and sort everything out in the morning. Leticia and I would share a room with Michelle and see what we could get out of her. Right now, as we all stood around, she was just unnerved, and Leticia was trying to get her to settle in. I had dropped my leather jacket on the bed and headed straight for the bathroom.

          Looking at myself in the mirror I decided I had definitely seen better days. I had skinned one hand in the fall and it burned; I had also accrued some nice scratches. But the kicker was the wound on my upper arm. I peeled off my black T-shirt and decided to take a look at the thing. Blood had run halfway to my elbow from a thin cut that ran from my shoulder another three or four inches down. Wincing, I grabbed a washcloth and started to clean the gravel out of it. Just because you get hurt often doesn't mean you know how to deal with the pain. Especially if you don't have Band-Aids.

          The doorknob turned behind me, and I turned round to see Michael walk in and carefully shut the door behind himself. He was carrying a roll of gauze. "Thought you might need that," he said, and I thanked him. Just moving the arm to catch the roll hurt and I bit my lip. I was going to have to get used to that, especially since I'm left-handed. I turned around again and started measuring the appropriate amount of gauze, but I suck at math.

_*I don't want to be the one who hurts you_

_I don't want to be the one who fails_

_I'm keeping my head on straight_

_So you can trust me again*_

          His fingers were cold on my shoulder, and I almost jumped at the sensation of the cold, the contact of his touch, and the innate pain. I arched an eyebrow and looked at him in the mirror, knowing from the latter that his fingers were roaming over the bruise I had gotten when I had, in the midst of apprehending Nina Myers, been accidentally thrown back into a table at Vincent's Restaurant in London. "Don't touch that," I admonished. "It still hurts sometimes."

          "I gave that to you."

          "Not like you had a choice. She was choking me."

          "I threw you into a table." He exhaled and his breath was warm against the back of my neck. "Wonderful parting gift."

          I finished bandaging my arm and turned to regard him as I slipped my shirt back on. "What do you want, Michael?"

          He stopped, walked over and sat down on the edge of the bathtub, clasping his hands together and composing his thoughts for a second before he looked at me. "We haven't finished talking," he said, "and since there is the slightest chance I may not be alive much longer, I want to make sure we deal with this."

_*I struggled all my life with empty moments_

_The shadow of a hole I'd never fill_

_Any happiness I had was empty_

_It wasn't good enough, I wanted love*_

          "Let's deal with it, then," I said, folding my arms. "Michael, this … this is not _Buffy_ and I am not Buffy and you are not Angel. You just can't walk into my life whenever you feel like it and walk back out whenever you feel like it. That's not fair to me and it's not fair to the rest of the people in my life who have to deal with me when I deal with you. We need to come to a decision and we need to stand by it."

          "I can't just leave England," he reminded me. "Even if I weren't fighting against the invasion, I still live there, I've got a flat, I've got a life, I can't just throw it all into a couple of suitcases. And what about you? You're committed to CTU now. You're the third highest ranking person in the building. What can we do?"

          I exhaled. "I only committed to a career in CTU after you left me. Once you left, I didn't have anything but the work and my friends who were involved in my work. It may be what I chose, but it's not what I am." I chose my next words carefully. "If you would have asked me, I would have stayed."

_*I don't want to think of life without you_

_I don't want to take a step alone_

_It scares me to think I almost lost you_

_Just let me know you're fine, I'm on the line*_

          "You wouldn't have been happy."

          "Maybe not at first, but I would have dealt with it. I was that sure of you. Granted, I'm not even eighteen yet, so who's to say I have the emotional stability and capacity to figure out what I want with my life anyway?"

          "Don't talk like that."

          "Sometimes it just happens." I looked over at him, trying not to break down when it mattered. "It's not even really about that, Mike. I would've given up everything for you. I told you that I loved you in front of everybody else … but you've never told me that you loved me."

_*I'm thinking of our whole life, baby_

_Won't you help me find a way?*_

          There was a flash of light behind Michael's eyes that reminded me of when we met. In that instant I was taken back to when and where it all began, when I still had my innocence and my belief that this was all just temporary. We looked at each other, into each other, in the heartbeat I waited for an answer.

          "That's not something you can say after spending a week together," he said quietly.

          I nodded and started toward the door.

_*I don't want to be the one who hurts you_

_I just want to know that you're all right*_

          "Don't leave."

          At the pleading tone in his voice I hesitated and turned back. Through the mist forming at the corners of my eyes I saw an infinite sadness at what he was doing in his. "We spent four days together in London and now a day here," he told me. "That's not enough time for us. But if you'd asked me if you … struck a chord in me … and if I thought I could love you, I would have told you yes."

          My heart skipped a beat. "What do you want from me, Michael?"

          "I want you to give me time and to give yourself time. I want to not be risking both our lives and be able to date you like normal people date. I want to do this right."

          "When?"

          "I don't know when. Since my life's in your hands."

_*I'm keeping my head on straight_

_So you can trust me again*_

          I looked into his eyes and wanted desperately to believe him. Michael closed the distance between us and kissed me gently on the forehead, holding me close for fleeting seconds. "You should see to Michelle and get some sleep," he said softly. "We have a lot to do tomorrow."

          "I'll be ready."

          I was wrong.


	10. Let It Bleed

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

Jack and I seemed to be having a lot of covert conferences in his office. Given recent events, though, one was definitely called for.

          "I think you need someone else on this, Jack."

          "Brittany, like it or not, you became the leader, and you're a good one."

          We glanced at each other uneasily, as we were facing a volatile unknown. When Kevin appeared with Michelle for their official debriefing of Michelle, I slipped out to where I had asked everyone else to gather. Leticia, Vaughn, Lex, Weiss, Steve, Chris and Michael were waiting dutifully by the stairs and Tony was also standing in on our meeting.

          "So the security breach virus is definitely connected to the Code Five threat," he was echoing as I arrived and slipped between Lex and Weiss.

          Vaughn nodded. "I want to know how they found us."

          "We'll sweep the van for surveillance," Lex said.

          I nodded agreeably. "Steve, Eric, help him out."

          "Hold up here." Leticia paused. "If they're tracking Michael, it would have to be on him before he left the country, right?"

          I looked across at Michael, who said he was working on that. I asked Tony to assist him. We needed to break this now. That said, what the hell were were supposed to do now?

          "What's going on with Michelle?" Chris interrupted.

          "She's asked for reassignment," Steve elaborated. "And the spider will be destroyed."

          "We should send it to Langley," Lex suggested. "Maybe Joshua can find a preventative measure."

          "I'll talk to Jack," Tony agreed. "Let's find this tracer, get a handle on things, and we'll go from there."

          We separated and I headed back to my workstation with Lex and Weiss. It had been only a day since I'd actually sat down and worked but it felt longer. The CTU agent has a fast-paced world, and mine was even faster. "So I noticed you didn't smother him last night."

          Weiss chuckled. "It crossed my mind."

          We went back to work. I dropped into my chair, stole a glance at the autographed picture of Jack Davenport near my monitor, clipped on my headset and settled in. Weiss pulled up a chair, and together the three of us went to work. Around us the CTU bullpen was buzzing as well and not just on Michelle's effort. I marveled at how committed these agents could be and the things they could do; it's why I had become one of them in the first place. No matter what my feelings, I never doubted them. I knew it was hard sometimes…

_*'Cause you wanted more_

_More than I could give_

_More than I could handle_

_In a life that I can't live*_

Upstairs in Jack's office, Jack was interviewing Michelle one more time. Kevin was doing his usual thing, which was to stand in the corner, not say much, and observe everything. More than likely, what he came up with would determine Michelle's future with the Agency. But Michelle, by her attitude, seemed to know that despite her best intentions, she had made a wrong choice and she had lost. The pressure had beaten her for the final time.

_*You wanted more_

_More than I could bear_

_More than I could offer_

_For a love that isn't there*_

Across town Michael was left dealing with his own thoughts, which were just as complicated as mine. The spot on the asphalt of the parking garage was still there. As he regarded it again, he felt the Code Five rather reminiscent of what he was going through: one moment it was there, the next moment it was gone. And no one knew quite what to do about it. There had to be an answer, but he had to face it before he could find it. He headed inside to begin that walk alone.

_*Love is trusting, love is honest_

_Love is not a hand to hold you down_

_I don't know when I got bitter_

_But love is surely better when it's gone*_

I couldn't begin to imagine what Weiss was going through. Since we'd met on our way to London, I had genuinely taken a liking to him; he was funny, compassionate, sensitive and determined. He was one of the guys I would've dated in school if I had been given the chance. In fact, he reminded me a lot of my deceased childhood friend John, only older, wiser, and definitely cuter. But both had the same fearless, everything-will-be-okay aura. Except everything wasn't okay. What was I supposed to say to him when I didn't even know what was happening to us?

_*You wanted more_

_More than I could love_

_More than I could offer*_

Sitting at my workstation I resolved to push all my personal issues – my relationship with Michael, my relationship with Weiss, my renewed insecurities about my future as a CTU agent – out of my head. Except I couldn't do that. My personal issues were part of the professional crisis. My love for Michael had been so strong and had slipped from him and now the Code Fives were using it against him, and that was what I had to fight. I knew I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him just because I was crazy enough to love him. I couldn't, I wouldn't, turn away now. No matter how hard it was or might be…

_*You wanted more_

_More than I could give_

_More than I could handle_

_In a life that I can't live*_

I spun around in my chair and looked to Weiss, standing by the printer. "How's it coming?"

          "As good as can be expected." He looked over his shoulder, then gestured with his chin; I followed his line of sight. Michael and Tony had returned and were heading in our direction. As agent's honor befitted, I stood as they approached.

          "Did you find the tracer?"

          "Yeah. It was in my jacket."

          "And you destroyed it?"

          A look passed between them and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

          "You didn't destroy it?"

          "No." Tony exhaled. "We need it."

          "How the hell could you possibly need it?"

          "It's part of our plan." Tony looked me right in the eyes, speaking with an incredible honesty as always. "It's our key to bringing the Code Fives to us."

          I just stared, thinking I'd died and gone to hell.


	11. Being Human

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

"You want to use my – Michael as _live bait?!_"

          I was sure the whole of CTU could hear my outburst, charged with incredulity and fear and anger and shock and passion. My fingernails were digging into my workstation, and all of my muscles had suddenly gridlocked worse than the city freeways at rush hour. I felt the spike of temperature in my hands and forearms that I always felt when I was either really nervous or really angry. I suppose at that moment, I was both.

          Tony, for his part, was patient with me. "Let me explain it."

          "Please," I said, my voice still terse.

          "We'll make them concentrate all their forces on one building, and then we'll take them out." 

          "Tony, do you know the specifics of this plan?" I didn't let him answer. "No, you don't. It can't be done."

          "Yes, it can," Michael said levelly, and I just glared hotly at him.

          "How?" I said. "How do you propose risking our lives, your life, against an enemy we can't define?"

          I watched him deposit a decently sized container on Tony's nearby desk with a thud and pop the seals on it expertly. Inside was Vaughan Rice's overdue "care package": another four weapons with viewfinders and carbon-tipped ammunition, identical to the one I had holstered in my locker. There was also extra ammunition and more tear gas grenades, enough to comfortably equip four more in addition to Michael and myself. He turned and looked at me.

          "This is how it's done."

          Standing there, I froze momentarily. Then I exhaled.

          "I'm going to have to take a moment."

          Tony took it all in stride. "Take all the time you need."

          Shaking my head at the sheer scope of this next plan, I walked away from everyone, heading for the break room. Hopefully some coffee and some silence would calm my nerves. In London the seven of us had come up with a frankly audacious plan to capture Nina Myers and save the Counterterrorism Center, and it had only worked through luck and tenacity. She was but one woman, too, and we didn't know how many Code Fives had been committed to killing Michael. We were risking our all against an enemy we couldn't count, couldn't define, and weren't prepared for. My head was spinning.

          I poured myself a cup into the mug I left on the shelf and started drinking.

          Another moment more and there was a knock at the door. I looked up and over expectantly, wondering what intentions were on the other side of the frosted glass.

          Needless to say I was more than surprised to see Weiss cautiously open the door and let himself in quietly. I put my mug down on the break table and turned to give him my full attention. Of all the people that could have shown up, I didn't expect him to be the one. And yet, he seemed a natural choice.

          He pulled out a chair next to me and studied me for a long moment.

          "I guess it's redundant to say this is bothering you."

          I chuckled. "It would definitely be that." I paused. "Make it make sense to me, Eric."

          "I can't do that. You've got to do it yourself." He exhaled. "I can just make it hurt less, if you want me to."

          "I could use that help." I swallowed. "Michael … he doesn't consider the cost or the risk of anything. It doesn't matter to him. It never mattered much to me either…"

          "…When you were on your own and nobody else but you got hurt."

          I nodded. "Yeah, but it's not that way anymore."

          "It hasn't been that way for a long time for any of us." He smirked. "What was that John Cusack said? The punishment for defiance is that you have to become a leader?"

          "Yeah, that's what he said. I wrote it down somewhere." I chuckled, but the amusement died quickly. "I know this could work. But the risks if it doesn't … we could go in there vastly outnumbered and we could all die. We'll need to be trained and informed about the Code Fives, and we only have set resources … once we hit the wall, we're all done for, and I couldn't possibly ask that of any of you."

          "You wouldn't have to ask."

          The surprise was plain on my face. I didn't know when I'd made the jump to being a Jack Bauer kind of leader. "How would you know?" I said, skeptical.

          "We're all right here, right?" Now he smirked again. "What, you thought we came for the donuts?"

          "It crossed my mind."

  
          We were able to share a small laugh, and I remembered the promise I had made to Leticia that morning, and how much I owed Weiss for standing by me.

          "No matter what happens with my life," I told him, "I appreciate what you've done, you know?"

          "You don't know how that makes me feel."

          "No, I do." I exhaled. "Putting up with Michael … with what I feel for Michael …"

          "It's your life, it's your decision to make."

          "That it is. I'm trying to make it. But even if I stay with him … I still want you in my life, Eric. You've done a lot, and you're a wonderful person I'm honored to have known. Don't walk out on me now."

          "I wouldn't even dare." He offered me his hand, and I took it. "Come on, it's time to get started."

          As we emerged from the break room, I saw everyone assembled, waiting on me for the go order. From people I'd known for years to people I didn't know that well at all, they were all prepared to follow me through the fire, and on that merit alone they were some of the most determined, brave souls I'd ever known. I strode over to join the group, regarded them all for the moment, looked Michael in the eyes.

          "We don't have a lot of time. Get ready."

          "You sure about this?" Lex asked me, just to confirm it for me.

          "I'm sure that it has to be done." I summoned up all of my reserve strength. "And I'm sure that we've got to do it."


	12. Mortal Causes

Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles 

You know how you prepare for certain death? You live like you're ready for it, even if you're not. Which obviously, we were not. No one is ever ready to die, no matter what cause they offer up their lives for.

          Standing in front of my locker I considered my own ideology a perfect example of this. As far back as I could remember I had the fierce and passionate belief that you dedicate yourself to standing for something and you go all the way for that, no matter if you risk fame, fortune, respect, blood or even your life. This philosophy had contributed to seven concussions, a dead social life and a lot of physical injury, but I had never once apologized for it, knowing it to be true.

          And yet, now that I had made the jump to making that my life rather than following my dreams, that philosophy had changed ever so subtly. Since London, Jack Bauer, my boss, my friend, my mentor, who considered me a second daughter, had relied on me as a leader. He had made me field leader in London, brought me back to be an agent-administrator who now occupied the third highest position in CTU Los Angeles, and called upon me to lead this Los Angeles manhunt. Even though it wasn't a manhunt any longer, that didn't change my focus. Now that there were people under my command, people whose lives I was responsible for, I could not be so bold.

          These were people personal to me, who had by virtue of their relationship with me or their call of duty or some combination of both, had agreed to put their lives on the line and follow my cause. Hadn't it only been three years ago I'd met Leticia and swapped math problems and Christmas presents with her? She was one of the people who just made my life mean something. If she were to be hurt, or God forbid, killed, I would be dying myself. She didn't have to stay, continue the fight, but she did because I did. And, okay, probably because she and Vaughn were in love with each other.

          I pulled the gun holster out of my locker, checked the gun to make sure it was fully loaded, then slipped into the holster and grabbed my leather jacket.

          It had only been four years since I'd met Teri Bauer and inadvertently changed the course of my life. She'd been dead more than a year, but the woman who'd encouraged the artistic career I'd forsaken to join her husband's effort still held a special place in my memory. I wondered what she would think of me now. Would she consider me loyal or lacking for committing to what would be a violent, out-of-hand, close combat? I supposed it didn't matter. Teri would have supported me in even this.

          I shut my locker thinking of her and turned back to join the fray on the floor.

          "Tell me this is better than an episode of _Celebrity Mole_," I cracked as I reached the group huddled around a table that had been dragged out for the occasion. 

          Kevin looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Anything is better than _Celebrity Mole_. Especially after they got rid of Michael Boatman. What was with that?"

          "I thought the blond guy was The Mole," Weiss said.

          "He was so not."

          "Can we get back to the situation here?" Jack inserted. Yes, my boss had come down to get involved in this. Whenever there's something you can't face, Jack Bauer will be right there to face it with you. I smiled in his direction with a "yes, sir" and looked at the various information and paperwork that covered the surface of the table – mostly expository.

          "Have you gone over the rules of engagement yet?" I asked Michael.

          "Not yet."

          "Let's do that now."

          He nodded, and everyone gave him their full attention. He sounded a bit like he was giving a lecture, which I guess he was. "There are seven primary conditions of engagement when dealing with a Code Five. Rule one: they've got no reflection in mirrors.

          "Rule two: they also can't be recorded on audio or video. Audio and visual are only face to face. Their cells can't be seen under microscopes either.

          "Three: They only take those who want to go. I'm currently disputing that one…

          "Rule four: Crosses and holy water may or may not work. The stake through the heart seems to, but I'd avoid it given that we've only got one chance at this.

          "Five: They create a decent seismic explosion when they're neutralized, at which point they'll turn to ashes. However they can regenerate if they come into contact with the blood of a living Code Five. Since things will be fast and furious in there we should remove the remains as soon as they're slain.

          "Rule six: Sunlight can kill them. Thus why we won't get them near it.

          "And seven: If you're bitten they'll leave a virus that makes you extremely susceptible to suggestion. That can be detected with an ultraviolet light." He reached over and plucked the one from Vaughan's container. "Thankfully, our hematolologist back home, Dr. Angie March, has sent over the necessary equipment to treat that." 

          In the resulting silence, I surveyed the table. "With that in mind, what's the working idea?"

          "Vacating a restaurant, setting it up with our people." Vaughn rested his elbows on the table. "We've got six firearms with ammunition, so the idea is to send Michael and five of us inside to brawl it out. Everybody else will secure a perimeter, gas the place, and neutralize any Code Fives that might escape in the process. Then we'll have cleanup and containment, God willing."

          "God willing indeed." I looked to Jack. "What do you think?"

          "It can work."

          "All right." I started standing again. "Then it's time for everybody to get acquainted with our munitions. Tony, get on the phones and secure a location. Michael and I will train the others, and then we'll set the trap."

          Tony grabbed a nearby phone and I pulled the gun Michael had given me out of my holster, holding it level and opening the viewfinder so everyone could see all of its pieces and parts. The weapon hummed silently as I activated it, creating a vibration I could feel in my grip. It was either that or my hands were shaking again.

          The rest of the day passed like that, as we learned how to operate guns and grenades, detect and treat the Code Five virus, and survive on our own. Michael was at the fore of this effort. He was the Code Five expert among us, and he gave us everything he knew, including some details that were deeply personal. Including how a Code Five will deceive you with your most firmly held perceptions in order to get you to drop your guard, and how you musn't let go. 

          I knew he was talking about his ex-partner and my heart went out to him again. If the same situation had happened with me and Lex, I would have felt just as torn apart. 

          It must have been eleven o'clock before we called it a night, all tired, scared and tense. Tony had booked a small restaurant uptown, an Italian place, and we assigned the two teams for the counter-insurgence. Through it all I had a tape loop in my brain of how hard it had been for everyone that had actually faced down a Code Five and lived. It was damn hard, but it was also the only way left to us. 

          Seeing the agony, or perhaps sensing it, Jack dismissed everyone and told us to come in the next afternoon to prepare one more time before the fall.

          "Tomorrow night this will all be over," Lex was saying as we grabbed our stuff off our desks.

          I nodded. "Yeah," I said, still unconvinced, "tomorrow night it's done."

          Leticia was waiting for me at the door, but I stopped on my way when I caught sight of Michael. This would be especially hard on him. The Code Fives had savaged his life once and now they were coming into it again. Standing there I wished I knew what to say but I didn't.

          "How can you do this?" I asked him quietly.

          His voice was tinged with sadness. "Because it's what I do."

          Like that we went our separate ways, wondering if it was for the final time. I didn't want to think about that. I couldn't bear myself to think that all might be lost.


	13. Now or Never

Restaurant Enchante Uptown Los Angeles 

"It had to be a French restaurant," I muttered to myself in Michael's car.

          He looked over at me. "You don't like French restaurants?"

          I just shook my head, not wanting to let him – or whomever might be listening in – know that I was only saying that because I was so scared I couldn't think of anything better to say.

          So mortified was I that I hadn't slept last night. When I had tried I just had nightmares of things going wrong and Michael being killed and Weiss being killed trying to save my life and everything falling apart. I'd sat up all night watching _Coupling_ on DVD, shuddering and trying to gather my fantasies of Jack Davenport. I hoped we didn't actually have to eat, because I didn't know if I could keep it down.

          My hand went to the bracelet on my wrist, engraved with the name Casey on it. My best friend Chris had gotten it for me when we were in high school together as an allusion to _Sports Night_'s Casey McCall and it had always brought me some good luck and some protection. I prayed for both tonight as Michael put his hand over mine.

          "It won't be that bad," I said, but I wondered who he was trying to convince.

          I looked into the rear view mirror for the two sets of headlights trailing us. Since the tracer was audio only, our team was free to follow us directly in. As Michael swung the car into a parking space, I saw them fade off; they'd park down a bit so as not to arouse too much suspicion. Jack, Lex, Weiss and Vaughn would head inside to back us up. My partner had been the most adamant. "She's my partner," he'd said, "and I'm going with her." No one had questioned him.

          Tony, Chris, Kevin, Steve and Leticia would secure a perimeter, covering all three of the restaurant's exits and setting up positions to gas the place. We couldn't be protected from the tear gas, but thankfully for all of us all it would do to a human was sting horribly. I figured it couldn't be much worse than what I was feeling as I walked hand-in-hand with Michael into the building, jacket covering my gun and stoicism covering my nerves.

          I looked back over my shoulder, the only signal I could give. It was all going down tonight.

_*Here by my side an angel_

_Here by my side the devil_

_Never turn your back on me_

_Never turn your back on me again  
Here by my side it's heaven*_

A few moments later, my backup team arrived. Jack and Lex seated themselves at the table nearest the door, diagonal to our table in the center of the room (with me facing the door for situational purposes, but I didn't like it). Weiss and Vaughn completed the diagonal line by covering our back. Michael poured for me from a wine bottle but I didn't drink, an abstinent nonalcoholic. We all made eye contact and subtle nods confirmed we were all ready. Over my ear radio crackled a similar situation.

          "It feels like a long night," Michael said to me, and I tried to smile.

          "Hopefully not that long."

          I steepled my fingers on the table, looking deep into his eyes to find myself, and waited.

_*Here by my side you are destruction_

_Here by my side a new color to paint the world_

_Never turn your back on it_

_Never turn your back on it again_

_Here by my side it's heaven*_

"This is typical of our relationship," he said after a moment.

          "Was that meant to be funny?"

          "It might have been."

          Outside, Tony and Leticia, covering the west exit, readied their grenade launcher from the roof of the building next door. Tony loaded four shots and clicked back the safety, sighting along the scope. Chris and Kevin had their own well concealed, and Steve was hefting his own piece of weaponry. They were all ready to go. It was Kevin who spotted the first activity along the perimeter and gave the signal to fade back into the silence and the shadows.

          I set my jaw and shut myself down emotionally. "They're here."

          It must have been terrifying for him to not turn around and look and give it all away. Over his shoulder I could see the first half dozen walk in inconspicuously, sight him immediately, and begin to make their subtle positioning moves. My heart beat once, then twice, and then it happened in seconds: they moved, we moved, and the war for Michael Colefield's life and my future began.

_*Careful, be careful  
This is where the world drops out_

_Where the world drops out*_

Jack's first shot dusted the rear Code Five immediately, and when one turned to react Weiss took him out immediately. I fired, piercing the lead as the others went for whatever targets they could get. One lunged for Jack, and as my fearless leader fought back, Lex assisted him with two well-placed shots. We had promised that we'd try not to wreck the restaurant but obviously that wasn't going to happen. 

          I kept shooting. That was all I knew how to do. I didn't know where Michael was, where Vaughn was, where Weiss was, I just saw somebody I didn't know and aimed square for them. Soon I was out of ammunition and loading a fresh clip from inside my jacket into the gun. I only had one more clip. Weiss was also reloading, going after the Code Fives with a vengeance I hadn't thought him capable of but that made perfect sense given his loyalty to me and the fact that he didn't like blood-sucking evil bastards.

          As soon as we were clear Lex went to work with the hand vac like it was an instrument of justice, set on doing his job. He got most of the explosion near the door but didn't get to the ones nearest Michael and I in time. Because Kevin was yelling in my ear, "They've got reinforcements!"

          Another six Code Fives entered the fray and we started in again. I gave the order for Tony to gas the place and watched as he got all four of his grenades off cleanly. Almost immediately my eyes began to sting, but I dropped down and started firing as the Code Fives reacted to the gas. Michael needed another clip and Jack covered him as he reloaded. I was trying to keep track of how much ammunition we had expended but that was a worthless task.

          And every time we killed more there were always more to kill us.

_*Careful, be careful_

_You breathe in and you breathe out_

_For it isn't so weird  
How it makes you a weapon*_

"How many more are there?" I couldn't keep from asking as I gave the order for a second round of tear gas. Lex and Jack were moving back to join the rest of us, and we all just kept shooting. Michael, not unexpectedly, was the first to expend his ammunition. I tossed him my glass and he threw it in the face of one Code Five. Holy water apparently does work. He followed that with his own glass and dove back so I could cover him, but I was fast running out of bullets myself. I was firing on blind rage and I should have been more conservative.

          Under the table with Michael I felt my trigger click on an empty chamber. I looked at him and tried to apologize but he wouldn't have any of it. That's when I heard something shatter, glass spray, and the table above us suddenly was thrown over. I figured I was going to die especially when the screams started in. 

          Weiss grabbed me by the hand and yanked me to my feet, then Michael. He had taken the bottle of holy water and thrown it into the advancing opposition, stunning all of them as it broke and sprayed them with the anointed liquid. He'd quite literally saved mine and Michael's lives when he'd wanted to take the latter not so long ago. 

Nodding my thanks to him, I followed his directions to get behind him as he took more shots. The ashes were mounting, and I ordered my last round of gas as I knew we were running on empty. Only Jack and Weiss still had shots left and the rest of us were using whatever we could get our hands on. I didn't know if it would be enough to save us.

_*And you give in and you give out_

_For it isn't so weird_

_How it makes you a weapon_

_Never turn your back on it_

_Never turn your back on it again*_

We went through two dozen of them that night and we held the line, but it cost us dearly. I felt my own blood running down my side, warm and painful, and the others had taken a collection of hits and bruises in the brawl. Standing in the remains, the only sound was the running of the hand vacuum as Lex collected the ashes and we composed ourselves. As soon as we were done, we ran for the vehicles. No sense in tempting fate any further.

          I threw open the Toyota's passenger-side door and threw myself inside, hitting my head on the door on the way but not stopping to comprehend it. As I lay there bleeding and battered, I asked for a roll call from my team members. One by one I heard their voices coming back to me. As the pain and promise came out in their words, and as we began to pick up the pieces, I let myself fade into the unconsciousness that comes with brutality and knowing you saved a life at the same time you've let it go. The blood came from my wounds, the suffering relief poured from my heart, and I couldn't feel anything anymore.


	14. Barely Breathing

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles 

The car came to a stop, and in the passenger seat my stomach lurched.

          "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

          "That's the loss of blood from yesterday talking." 

          Pause.

          "Do you really think I should be doing this?" I said, looking over at the man behind the wheel whom I had come to trust with very scared eyes and an uncertain heart. My hand was gripping the seat belt and I had never been so frightened of anything in my life, not even a melee in which myself and my partner had both been wounded. 

          Weiss nodded. "You've gotta have closure, right?"

          I was still staring.

          "You don't have much time," he said, reaching over and undoing my seat belt for me. "I'll be here when you get back."

          I nodded more to myself than to him and stepped out of the car. The first distance was slow, but I forced myself to at least pretend I was confident as I crossed the street and entered the LAX international terminal. It was light with mid-day traffic but nothing spectacular. Nothing to distract me from the penetrating task at hand. 

I walked over to check the video screens and get the necessary flight information. It only took me a minute to pick out the flight that was leaving in twenty minutes for London. With a resigned sigh I turned and headed for the escalator that ferried me upstairs and then I located where I had to go next. This was it; I was really doing this. Once I got to the gate there wasn't any turning back.

With that in mind I started walking down the concourse. If not now, when, right? Something like that.

_*Love I hope you won't be late_

_You know how much I hate to wait_

_Believe, my heart is in your hands_

_And our life is like a song*_

The memories all started to come together in my mind. The way Michael could communicate with just a look exactly what he was thinking and feeling. He always seemed to be right there when I needed someone to turn to. The many nights I sat up and cried over him and whatever it was I must have done wrong. How we fought side by side time and time again (okay, twice) and always seemed to pull through. How he could never tell me he loved me when I loved him. The way he said my name, like it had its own special meaning, its own special place and purpose in the world, in _his_ world…

          "Brittany. I was hoping you'd come."

          Jarred out of my thoughts I looked up and over and there he was. I froze for a second. I was standing in the middle of the concourse and there he was next to me with all of his luggage. Shouldn't he be across the room waiting for a plane? Or on the plane, actually? I stared at Michael, who just gave me time to process it.

          "I thought you were leaving."

          "Vaughan called about half an hour ago. Since we've confirmed the presence of Code Fives in the U.S., Pearse wants someone to survey the spread. It was going to be him until about two weeks ago … but now he's changed his mind." Watching the shocked look on my face turn to amazement, he repeated, "I'm staying. I don't know for how long but I'm staying."

_*When you sing along_

_Baby, let it go_

_Believe me, believe me_

_I would wait forever and more_

_For that open door  
Believe me, believe me*_

Feeling a rush of emotion I didn't know what to do with, I looked back at him. "Am I dreaming?" I had to ask.

          Michael reached out and took my hand, squeezing reassuringly as he'd often done. "You tell me."

          I hesitated just a moment, then launched myself into his arms. Feeling the strength of his embrace, his steady, almost metronomic, heartbeat, and the familiar tingling sensation as he kissed my forehead, I knew all the stress and the insecurity was running out of me. I knew it wasn't perfect but we would work on that. I was just relieved we had a second chance and I was going to take it.

          Everything I had thought had just been destroyed, and I couldn't feel happier.

_*Life is more than we can know_

_And faith is something we could show_

_I would love, I would lie_

_I would give, I would die_

_'Cause our life is like a song*_

As we pulled away, he chuckled. "I knew you'd be happy … but you've surprised me yet again."

          I was able to smile. "So what happens now?"

          "CIB's still got me on their payroll and they're covering my expenses. I just have to get to work. I may have to borrow some of your resources." Looking over at me, "But I doubt that's what you were really talking about."

          "Actually, it was … but yeah." I laughed. "My brain is … it's completely shot right now."

          Michael smiled. "You're unique, you know?"

          "Right." I rolled my eyes.

          "No, I'm serious." Yet we were laughing anyway.

_*When you sing along_

_Baby, let it go_

_Believe me, believe me_

_I would wait forever and more_

_For that open door_

_Believe me, believe me*_

"Right, now moving on…" Michael regained his composure first. "Since I'm going to be here a while, there's something I wanted to ask you."

          "If you can borrow my gadgets? They're not mine, you know, they're Lex's."

          "That wasn't it." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Would you like to go out and have dinner with me sometime?"

          I didn't have to think. "I've been waiting a long time to say yes." 

          "You can stop waiting." Another pause. "I suppose we should get the hell out of here and get on with it, then."

          "Yeah, I think you're right."

_*Sometimes we draw the line_

_And people remain where they don't belong_

_It's so easy to say what you need_

_Sometimes it just goes away*_

All the stress of the last more than a month had soon become a mockery as we walked from the airport terminal out across the street to where Michael had parked the CTU car with the keys safely stored for one of our agents to pick up later. He found the CIA's security compartment, stored his luggage, and unlocked the car. Thankfully my blood was out of the passenger seat, and the passenger door, and the passenger carpet … you get the idea. There'd been a relatively small but steady bleeding incident.

          "I should probably go back and get started," Michael said. "So I'll pick you up from work tonight?"

          "Fine with me. Do you want me to make…"

          "…No, leave the arrangements up to me. And there's something else I forgot to tell you."

          "What is it now, Mike?" I said, suspicious already.

          Michael closed the already short distance between us and kissed me. It was the kiss I'd been waiting for since I'd gotten hooked on 80's films and become convinced I was going to run off with Andrew McCarthy. "I'm falling in love with you," he told me, and we left it on that note. There's no better note to leave it on. 

_*When you sing along_

_Baby, let it go_

_Believe me, believe me_

_I would wait forever and more  
For that open door  
Believe me, believe me*_

"I owe you one, Eric," I said as I climbed back into the car.

          "You do not."

          "Oh, yes I do. Turns out he's been assigned to stay and slay for a bit." 

          "You serious?"

          "Yeah."

          "There's more of those blood-sucking bastards?"

          "Um … maybe." 

          "Damn."

          "And he finally said it."

          "Really?"

          "Well, not it exactly, but…"

          "I don't care, do you know how lucky you are to even get an approximation of that?"

          I felt a laughing fit coming on. "Yeah, I know."

          "I think we're all existing in your own lucid dream or something."

          "Can we just get on with it?" I said, laughing again anyway. "You know, world to save, people to drive crazy…"

          Weiss smirked devilishly at me as he gunned the engine. "You know, this is just the beginning."


	15. Coda: Going To Babylon

Somewhere Downtown Los Angeles 

"So what have we established?" Michael asked me as we walked together from his car toward the parking garage elevator that would take us to the restaurant.

          I arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

          "Well, you hate French restaurants."

          "I do not. I just said that because I needed something to say." 

          "All right … and you could be arrested for kidnapping Jack Davenport."

          "Maybe, but it's harder since I've actually met him."

          "And you've read every Ian Rankin novel ever."

          "Guilty there." I looked over at him with a sly smile. "Interrogating me, Detective-Sergeant Colefield?"

          He matched my smirk. "Maybe just inquiring after you. What's your opinion on Italian?"

          "You're about to find out, aren't you?"

          "I have a feeling I'm going to find out a lot."

_*Someday out of the blue_

_In a crowded street or a deserted square_

_I'll turn and I'll see you_

_As if our love were new_

_Someday we can start again, someday soon*_

****

_*Here comes the night_

_Here come the memories_

_Lost in your arms_

_Down in the foreign fields_

_Not so long ago seems like eternity_

_Those sweet afternoons still capture me*_

"It doesn't bother you?" I asked him as we walked through the Palm Court outside Academic Hall on the San Marcos campus. It was cloudy and overcast but I didn't mind that much. "That you're dating a college student?"

          He shrugged. "Kirstie was a teacher. Why couldn't I make the natural progression?"

          I chuckled. "It's good to know we're making progress."

          "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Michael said, favoring me with a smile as he settled his arm around my shoulders. "Have I driven you crazy yet?"

          "That would be Eric's job." I chuckled. "I know it's going to be hard and complicated for us. I know it's going to take some time … but I think we're off to a good start."

          "That's the best thing we could ask for. Let's see where it takes us."

_*Someday out of the blue_

_In a crowded street or a deserted square_

_I'll turn and I'll see you_

_As if our love were new_

_Someday we can start again, someday soon*_

****

_*I still believe, I still put faith in us_

_We had it all and watched it slip away_

_Where are we now_

_Those hot afternoons _

_Still follow me*_

Michael's picture hadn't replaced Jack Davenport's on my desk. We weren't ready for that yet. I thought someday we might be, but not now. 

          "How's the wrist?" I asked Lex as we headed out on Friday night. 

          "It's okay," he said. "Thank God I just sprained it."

          "You guys are going to miss the first pitch if you don't move," Weiss warned us from the doors. We quickly got on our way. "What would you do without me?" he quipped as we hooked up.

          "I have absolutely no idea," I deadpanned, but I wasn't totally joking.

_*I still believe_

_I still put faith in us*_

****

_*I still believe_

_I still put faith in us*_

"Come on, we want details." At the sound of her voice I shot Kim Bauer a glance. She sat to my left absently twirling her pasta on her fork, obviously more interested in my life than in dinner. "How's it going?"

          "Yeah, Brittany," her father said mirthfully, across from me, "How is it?"

          I laughed out loud. "You really want to know?"

          "Yeah," Kim prodded.

          "Of course we do." Jack was treating me like a daughter now.

          I just smiled. "Life is pretty good." Just then, my phone rang and I answered it briskly. "What? No, the stuffed shells are in the bottom drawer. You want me to label the freezer for you?" I ignored the Bauers' mirth and Jack's comment that I sounded a lot like Teri. "Ask Leticia. She knows where everything is… yes, of course I love you."

_*Someday out of the blue_

_Maybe years from now or tomorrow night_

_I'll turn and I'll see you_

_As if we always knew_

_Someday we would live again, someday soon*_

****

_*Here comes the night_

_Here come the memories_

_Lost in your arms_

_Down in the foreign fields  
Not so long ago seems like eternity_

_Those sweet afternoons still capture me*_

We arrived at the table where Leticia and Vaughn were already waiting for us. Michael pulled out my chair for me and I dropped into it, unable to hide the wide smirk I get when things really go my way and I'm still trying to recover. "Didn't keep you waiting too long, did we?"

          "Hey, after all this," Vaughn quipped, "I think you're entitled."

          I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and hand me a menu."

          Leticia did. "What are you ordering? Something dead and cooked?"

          "I don't know. What are you having?"

          "I don't know."

          "Okay, does anyone know?" Michael asked the table and got the obvious answer.

          I smiled at him deviously. "You've just got to learn patience, Mike."

          "I deserved that, didn't I?" he said, skimming his own menu.

          "You did," I said. "You live in the world."

_*Someday out of the blue_

_Maybe years from now or tomorrow night_

_I'll turn and I'll see you_

_As if we always knew_

_Someday we would live again, someday soon*_

****

          I have three more years of college to go before I graduate. This is my third year with CTU and, I guess, my first as a freelancer for CIB. (I still have to get used to the big gun with the carbon-tipped bullets under my bed.) I've seen things most people don't even know about. I have the beginnings of a relationship and loyal friends who'll never leave me. And I'd like to think I gave something back.

          Maybe all that's left is just to live.

**End.**

****

**Acknowledgements:**

As with _Coventry_ I would first like to thank the creators of all four franchises involved: Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran, J.J. Abrams, Michael Frost Beckner and Joe Ahearne. I'd also like to thank the musical artists, from Tonic to Elton John, who were wonderful scorers for this work. But once again I owe the actors most of all: the wonderful Jack Davenport (Michael Colefield), Greg Grunberg (Eric Weiss), Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn), Richard Speight Jr. (Lex), Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle Dessler), Enrique Murciano (Christopher Gautreau), Erik von Detten (Kevin Blaisdell) and Alexis Denisof (Stephen Claire). Let me not forget Tisha, partner in crime, as ever.

**Music List:**

Part 4: "Take Me As I Am" by Tonic.

Part 5: "Do You Know" by Tonic.

Part 6: "Don't Dream It's Over" by Sixpence None The Richer.

Part 8: "Did We Not Choose Each Other" by Sophie B. Hawkins.

Part 9: "Head On Straight" by Tonic.

Part 10: "You Wanted More" by Tonic.

Part 13: "Weapon" by Matthew Good Band.

Part 14: "Believe Me" by Tonic.

Part 15: "Someday Out of the Blue" by Elton John.


End file.
